Larry Mayer

PALM BEACH, Fla. Meeting with Chicago reporters Wednesday at the NFL owners meetings, Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren provided an update on the franchise's plans to build a state-of-the-art fixed-roof stadium.

"The focus now is both downtown (Chicago) and Arlington Heights," Warren said. "These are not linear processes or projects. They take time, they take a lot of energy and effort. I am very, very pleased with where we are. I think we, collectively as a group, are where we thought we would be. I know specifically I am where I thought we would be at this point in time."

In February 2023, the Bears closed on their purchase of 326 acres of property in Arlington Heights on the former site of Arlington International Racecourse. Last April, they unveiled plans to build their new stadium just south of Soldier Field on the museum campus along the lakefront.

Having entered the second quarter of the calendar year, Warren told reporters that "now the pace will definitely pick up and we are fortunate to have optionality."

"Where we are right now with both the museum campus downtown and especially Arlington is that we are really getting serious about the feasibility studies," he said. "We are doing traffic studies not only for Arlington Heights [but also neighboring suburbs], because we have to be sensitive to the surrounding communities."

Warren thanked Bears chairman George H. McCaskey and his family for having the foresight to purchase the Arlington Heights property, describing it as "an absolutely fantastic piece of land."

"To be able to find 326 acres that close to a wonderful city is difficult to do," Warren said. "Arlington Heights is unique. I do not think there is another piece of land like this in the world."

Asked what put Arlington Heights back on equal footing with the Chicago site, Warren said: "When you start this journey, one of the things I promised George (McCaskey) when I came onto the Bears was you cannot go into these deals with your mind made up. You need to have a direction and to be very focused and detailed, but you cannot go in saying, 'This is where it is going to be.'

"One thing about Arlington Heights, I always try to look for the positive elements. To have that beautiful piece of land that has great topography, you can actually see downtown from there. To have the Salt Creek that runs in between it, it is almost split equally from an acreage standpoint. And you think of the Metra spots, it has an Arlington Park location."

Warren has experience in the construction of a new NFL stadium. As Vikings chief operating officer, he was instrumental in the design, development and planning of U.S. Bank Stadiumwhich opened in 2016 and hosted Super Bowl LII on Feb. 4, 2018as well as Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center, the Vikings' training facility.

With the Bears, Warren is focused on building a new stadium that will provide an unforgettable fan experienceregardless of which site is ultimately chosen.

"It is still making sure we are being diligent," he said, "because the Chicago Bears have never had their own stadium in their 105-year history. This is a critical decision. These buildings last for 40-plus years."

Warren characterized his ongoing communication with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and his colleagues as "still very strong."

"You think about the museum campus," Warren said. "There would be a small, mixed-use development there. But the infrastructure is tight. I will still say it: there is no more beautiful piece of land in the world, to have as beautiful as Lake Michigan is, to have that right near a stadium. But you have to look at all the pluses and minuses there."

Warren revealed that he has traveled to the Arlington Heights site and imagined what a Bears stadium would look like.

"I dream all the time, and there have been many times I have driven out to the property to be able to just think about what could happen," he said. "You look around the NFL, and even [in London] at Tottenham when we were there last year, there were people there who were living across the street.

"When you start thinking about building a world-class, fixed-roof stadium to host Chicago Bears games, college football games, Big Ten Championship games, Final Fours, Super Bowls, WWE, UFC, boxing matches, concerts, all those different things, the economic value that would bring to our community is astronomical.

"It does not exist anywhere in the world. And then you start weaving in mixed-use developmenthotels, housing, restaurantsit does really create a destination. And downtown and Arlington Heights are both in Cook County, which is good, and I think is important to understand.

"I dream a lot about it, the legacy that will be created for the Chicago Bears. Fans deserve a world-class, transformative game day experience and we will be able to do it here."

A third potential location for a new stadium has been mentioned on the former site of Michael Reese Hospital. But the Bears have not received a formal proposal.

Regardless of which location is chosen, the Bears have pledged to contribute more than $2 billion of their own money. They would only need public funds to enhance surrounding areas and not for building the stadium itself.

"One thing to be clear about," Warren said, "we are not looking for any public subsidies from a stadium construction standpoint. Where we need assistance would be from an infrastructure standpoint and that is just roads and sewers and highways and transportation."

Warren reiterated that he is confident that construction on a new stadium will begin sometime this year.

"My goal still remains to be able to move dirt around in 2025," he said, "which is important because there is a lot of pre-construction work that needs to go into these projects, whether you are at the museum campus, Michael Reese or [Arlington Heights], to get things ready to go."